Raised for Our Justification

Wow, that was good singing.

Let me give you a little Bible lesson on good singing.

! I mean that.

I mean, after all, what a pastor should do

!

In other words, what we sing should be clearly connected to the glory of the word that God has given to his children.

Secondly, good singing is something that the Holy Spirit enables in a believer who is filled with the Spirit.

You all know that, don't you?

Right? Right?

One of the giveaways of not being filled with the Spirit is being a grumpy, unhappy, non-participating believer.

Do you follow what I'm saying?

Everybody's with me?

Everybody's saying, I get that memo, that's for me, right?

I like the way you sing.

I do.

I want people of the years from now to remember.

That when they were here, they heard people sing.

Because the words are true.

And because the Spirit of God works in believers' lives.

And we're thankful for that.

Now, remember what I said.

Good singing is informed by Scripture.

So it goes without saying that that's where we're next.

Turn in your Bibles.

That's one of the most precious statements.

Another one is, let's sing together.

But I want you to turn your Bibles to Romans chapter 4, verse 25.

Romans 4:25

Romans chapter 4, verse 25.

Romans 4:25

And as we get started this morning, I am going to ask that you join me quietly in prayer.

And your prayers, I have confidence in, will be one of the things that the Spirit of God uses this morning to lift up the glory of Christ in our presence.

I am responsible to preach.

You are responsible to pray.

And we will rely upon the Holy Spirit to do His work.

Amen?

Let's pray.

Father God, as we come this morning in prayer, our prayer is not a reflection of a habit or something that's woven into the order of service.

It is the humble and thankful dependence that we have upon you.

And apart from you, we can expect nothing of worth or significance.

We are frail, mindful of the clear picture that Scripture gives to us of our flesh being something that is at best an earthen pot.

And yet you have chosen to give to us the joy of salvation and the indwelling Spirit.

And it is on Him that we rely this morning to take the words that you have given to us by inspiration and to allow those words to resonate in our heart

and make sense through the working of the Spirit of God that this morning the Lord Jesus Christ would be exalted and lifted up.

That those who are here that know the Lord Jesus would have their hearts warmed and their affections for Him stirred

and their longing for the day that they will see Him face to face become something that is a growing characteristic of their life.

And those that are here who have allowed the troubles and cares of this life

to interfere with their sweet communion with you as their God and Savior

would have this day be a day of rededication and recommitment.

A renewal in their mind of the blessing of their salvation

and a confidence in their eternal destiny and ambition to live with an eye on eternity.

And those that are here that don't know Jesus

whose lives this morning are clouded

some with a pervasive sense of the hopelessness of life

others confused

profoundly frustrated

uncertain of what tomorrow may bring

that this morning first of all your Spirit would convict them

of the hopeless burden of sin

and then by your grace help them understand that Jesus died

to pay the price for that sin

and rose again victoriously.

We look forward

Holy Spirit

to what you do

to uplift Jesus

and we ask it in His name.

Amen.

Well this morning the first part

of this morning's worship

was given over to

the reminder in

Romans chapter 4

Romans 4 · chapter mention

of the fact that Jesus

it tells us in the scripture

He was delivered up for our trespasses

and the reality from the Bible is this

is that Jesus died our death

He died my death

He died your death

and as a result of that

one of the things that

that I take pleasure

as a pastor in saying

at a funeral

is to those who are believers

I say Jesus died your death

the one who trusts Christ

does not face death

the same way Jesus faced it

nor does that person face death

the way an unbeliever faces it

for the believer

it says in the scripture

absent in the body

what?

present with the Lord

in fact the truth of the matter is

is one of the things

that is a little unnerving

in my conversation with individuals

when I have the opportunity

they'll say something like

today's a good day

and I say any better than this

and I'd be dead

and the normal takeaway from that

is I get people who look at me

and think I need to see a therapist

or at least I ought to be

on some medication

because something's wrong

and I say no, no, no

what I mean by that is

my last trip is up

that's a little more confusing

and I say the truth of the matter is

is when Tim Knoir dies

he's going to heaven

and it isn't any better than that

that's the truth

that's the truth

and the reason I have that confidence

and I can say that

without any hesitation

is because of what this verse

announces to us

and it presses together

the sweetness of the gospel

number one

it tells us there

Jesus died for us

he died in our place

there's a second thing

that I want us to see this morning

and that is the fact

of the resurrection

I want you to look at this

and recognize there

at the end of chapter 4

the apostle says

and was raised for our justification

the passage that we're looking at here

presumes

on something that we must stop

and consider carefully

it's interesting

and I'm not going to do it this morning

because of time

but if you were to take the time

to kind of work through the Bible

you would find that

in many many places

the scripture makes it clear

that Christ Jesus rose from the dead

not only did he die for our sins

but he rose again

and that's supremely important

and significant

not only does the Bible

make the fact of the resurrection clear

but the Bible also hinges everything

upon the reality of the resurrection

if Jesus did not rise from the dead

then we are here playing a game

and our faith really has no substance

or basis whatsoever

it is the fact of the resurrection

that we celebrate this morning

that is the great underpinning

of our faith

and the reason that we have absolute confidence

that when we leave this place

that we will spend eternity

in the presence of Christ

I want you to understand

just as we think about the fact

of the resurrection

that Jesus was right up front

about the reality of the fact

he would rise again

just think with me just for a moment

you're there in Romans

keep your finger

but turn back if you will

to John chapter 2

John 2 · chapter mention

John chapter 2

John 2 · chapter mention

verse 18 and 19

in John chapter 2

John 2 · chapter mention

Jesus has just finished

cleansing the temple

I believe that he did it

at the beginning of his ministry

and he did it at the end

of his ministry

here we have it

at the very beginning

of his public ministry

and as he cleans the temple

he gets rid of all the garbage

that was going on in the temple

he has the Jews come to him

and say hey listen

what sign do you give

what's the proof

you have

what right do you have

for cleaning out the temple

look what he says there

in verse 19

destroy this temple

and in how many days

in three days

I will raise it up

right from the very beginning

he made it undeniably clear

listen I am going to die

and I am going to rise again

I am going to die

and I am going to rise again

and he let his disciples know

over and over and over again

that yes he would die for sin

but yes he would rise again

and this morning

as we are together

as believers

and we celebrate the resurrection

what we're saying is

we know Jesus rose again

and we're looking at a passage

that just hammers this point

undeniably clear

go back if you would then

to that passage in Romans chapter 4

Romans 4 · chapter mention

and notice what it says

he was raised

he was raised

for our

for our sin

and for our justification

now think with me just a minute

about the fact of the resurrection

not only did Jesus say

that it would happen

but it was also affirmed

by numerous witnesses

and it was never successfully challenged

by Jesus' enemies

if you are there in Romans

just turn ahead a little bit

to 1 Corinthians chapter 15

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

and in 1 Corinthians chapter 15

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

as the apostle is writing

regarding the matter of the resurrection

in broader terms

he makes reference

to the reality

of the fact

that when Jesus rose again

he was seen

by numerous people

who could have denied it

if it wasn't true

there in verse 5

it says this

and he appeared to Cephas

that's to Peter

then to the 12

then he appeared

to more than 500 brothers

at one time

most of whom are still alive

though

some have fallen asleep

now I want you to think with me

for a moment

one of the things about

about politics

is that we have learned

new vocabulary terms

how many of you knew

what plausible deniability was

before the last 10 or so years

do you know what

plausible deniability is

it is

posing something

in such a fashion

that you can deny

that it really happened

or you can kind of

wiggle your way around it

and one of the easiest ways

to be able to

have

your

statements

well

I would rephrase that

one of the easiest ways

to get away with a lie

is say it in such a vague way

that nobody can pin you down

case in point

all that's on my

server

is personal

and

the only way

you could find out

if that wasn't true

is to have

my

server

see

if no one else

is a witness

to what you

say

is true

guess what

nobody can prove

whether you're lying

or telling the truth

and here

in relationship

to the resurrection

Paul says

Jesus rose again

now there's nobody

living that really

knows anything

about this resurrection

just take my word

for it

it's all personal

no

what Paul says

is

hey

Peter saw him

the twelve saw him

and

after that

there were about

five hundred of us

and most of them

are living still

point being

if you have a question

about whether Jesus

rose from the dead

what you can do

is

check it out

with so and so

he was there

and he saw Jesus

not only is the resurrection

something that is

affirmed by numerous witnesses

but it really is the

foundation of our faith

it is what our faith

rests upon

and apart from the resurrection

we have no reason

to be confident

in the certainty

of the forgiveness

of all of our sins

or in the certainty

of our eternal destiny

I want you to realize

this issue of the resurrection

is at the heart

at the heart

of our faith

going back again

to first Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15

let me just read

what the apostle wrote

in verse 20

but in fact

Christ has been

raised from the dead

the first fruits

of those who have

fallen asleep

for as by man

came death

by a man

has come also

the resurrection

of the dead

for as in Adam

all die

so also in Christ

all have been made alive

each in his own order

Christ the first fruit

then it is coming

those who belong to Christ

how do I know

that I am going

to be resurrected

from the grave

how do I know

that those who have died

are going to be resurrected

the truth of the matter

is this

if you look back

a little bit

in verse 14

it says

if Christ has not

been raised

then our preaching

is in vain

and the dead

will not be raised

then in verse 20

listen

he is the one

who by his raising

from the dead

has made it

undeniably certain

that he

will also

raise us

from the dead

and we can trust

in that

it's because

of the empty tomb

that we can have

complete confidence

in a number

of different truths

in our faith

for one

we know we're going

to be raised

from the dead

number two

we can be absolutely

certain of this fact

that he will judge

sin

he will take care

of sin

I don't know about you

but every now and then

as I look at what's going

on in the world

I think to myself

boy it would be nice

if some of this stuff

was settled

I'm looking forward

to the day

when justice

happens

in many different

places and instances

and the fact

of the matter

is that Jesus

having raised

from the dead

is going to be

the one who cares

for the judgment

of all the sin

that's taking place

now

he will settle it

there's another thing

that I want you

to recognize

in relationship

to the matter

of his resurrection

it is proof

of the power

that is available

in us

to help us change

from being who we are

to who we will be

turn in your Bible

over to Ephesians

Ephesians 1:19

chapter 1

verse 19 and 20

Ephesians chapter 1

Ephesians 1:19

verse 19 and 20

there are two

very significant prayers

in the book of Ephesians

the first prayer

that Paul prays

is that the believer

would be aware

of the power

of the Holy Spirit

available in the believer's life

to help the believer

change

in those quiet moments

when we kind of

think carefully

about who we are

every one of us

ends up with a certain

amount of

insecurity

recognizing

the natural tendency

of our heart

and the struggle

we have with sin

do you recognize that

do you see that

in those moments

the believer

has the encouragement

and the confidence

that the problem

of their life

is something

that enjoys

the power

of the Holy Spirit

so that

where they are today

they don't have to

stay there

and they can change

and grow

how does change

how does growth

happen

does it happen

just because you

arbitrarily make a decision

I think I'm going to do

a little bit of moral

improvement

I'm going to be a little

less self-focused

I'm going to be a little

kinder

I'm going to not be

as sarcastic

as I have been

how many of you

have made those

kind of resolutions

before

and how long

did they last

until the next time

someone who was

close to you

bumped in you

and gave you

an opportunity

to practice

your sarcasm

at which you're

a specialist

well the happy fact

is this

is that the Holy Spirit

is in the believer

and the Holy Spirit

is invested

in the responsibility

of helping you change

now listen here

verse 19

and what is the

immeasurable

this is the prayer

that Paul prays

he says

what is the

immeasurable greatness

of his power

toward us who believe

according to the

working of his

great might

that he worked

in Christ

when he raised him

from the dead

happy thought

isn't that

the same power

that took Jesus

out of the grave

and raised him

again is the

power that is

available to help

me change

and not stay

the way

I am

and so this

morning as we

celebrate

the resurrection

one of the things

that we need to

understand is that

the resurrection

which is an

undeniable truth

is something that

is at the very

center of our

faith and it

has its effect

across the broad

range of the

things that we

enjoy as

believers

it is that

which gives us

comfort and

consolation

it is that

which encourages

us in those

moments of

challenge when

we're broken

by the world

we live in

it is that

which gives us

hope when we

face the reality

of where we are

and we think

about where we

need to go

and we know

I have the

power of the

Holy Spirit

that raised

Jesus up from

the dead

at work in me

and I have

confidence that

he's going to

do his work

well one

we recognize

this morning

the fact of

the resurrection

but I want to

take the passage

and kind of

push back into

it a little bit

more and

recognize that

his resurrection

has bearing

on our

justification

what we saw

earlier this

morning in the

first service

is that Jesus

died for our

sins

and what Paul

tells us then

in the last part

of Romans chapter

Romans 4:25

4 verse 25

is that the

resurrection of

Jesus not only

satisfies the

dead of our

past sins

but also brings

about his

righteousness

to our life

now before we

take our text

further I want

to say first of

all that Jesus

did not rise

from the dead

only for our

sakes Jesus

rose from the

dead because

death could not

hold him

one of the

songs that we

sing says

death could not

hold on to

Jesus and we

recognize that

the reason for

that are you

thinking why

Jesus was not

held in the

grave does

anybody know

can you say

to me I

have a Bible

verse that

that makes it

clear here's

why I see a

couple of you

nodding the

rest of you are

looking at the

nodders and

saying tell us

you know here's

the deal we

make a statement

we want to know

where it is in

the Bible how

is it that Jesus

couldn't be held

by death

you're in Romans

keep your finger

there we're coming

back but I want

you to go back

to that chapter

we're going to

bounce back and

forward between

1st Corinthians

chapter 15

verse 24

1st Corinthians

chapter 15

verse 24

it says this

then comes the

end when he

delivered the

king

that's not what

I wanted

I'm sorry

Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

see I got

habit of going

to Acts chapter

Acts 15 · chapter mention

15

took a false

run there

Acts chapter 2

Acts 2:24

verse 24

it says this

okay how many

of you are

praying for

your pastor

that's just a

test just

sing

just sing

verse 2

chapter 2

verse 24

it says God

raised him up

loosing the

pangs of death

because it was

not possible

for him to be

held by it

it wasn't

possible for

Jesus to be

held in death

and then in

verse 27

it says for

you will not

abandon my

soul in Hades

or let your

holy ones see

corruption

now I want you

to come back

if you will

and think with

me about that

a little further

and here's where

we will go back

to 1st Corinthians

chapter 15

and remember

what it says

in the last

part of 1st

Corinthians

chapter 15

it says this

oh death

where is your

victory

oh death

where is your

sting

what is it

that makes

death

as destructive

as it is

it is the

power of sin

and with

the power

of sin

comes the

corrupting

ability

of sin

not only

on the

spirit

but also

on the

body

of a

man

and Jesus

being absolutely

sinless

death

could not

get a bite

on him

could not

hold on

to him

could not

keep him

in that

state

and so

let me tell

you that

while we

think about

the resurrection

and we

recognize that

faith in Christ

is an incredibly

simple truth

to hold on

to

it's something

that a

four year old

a five year old

may believe

it's something

that a person

who is in his

80s and 90s

may come to

faith and

believe in the

Lord Jesus

Christ

as simple

as it is

to believe

in Christ

the impact

of faith

is profound

and the

impact

of what

Jesus

did for us

on the

cross

is unbelievable

there are

many things

that come

with salvation

there are

many things

that come

as a result

of the

empty tomb

and let me

just kind of

touch on

several of

these things

for you to

kind of

ponder with

me

it says

here

for one

we are

saved

from the

wrath

to come

I don't

know about

you

but the

fact of

the matter

is

because

Jesus

died

in my

place

I have

no

condemnation

and I

have

no

reason

to

fear

the

eventual

consequence

of all

my

sin

in the

past

all

my

sin

I

know

Jesus

has

paid

my

debt

and

it's

paid

in

full

that's

what

we're

saying

this

morning

how

do

I

know

that

the

empty

tomb

makes

it

clear

that

that

payment

was

accepted

and

it

satisfied

my

debt

furthermore

because

Jesus

died

for my

sin

and rose

again

I

am

no

longer

condemned

to

an

going

to

spend

one

week

in

hell

or

two

weeks

in

hell

or

nine

years

in

hell

and

I'm

hoping

that

my

friends

will

pray

me

out

or

whatever

I

know

that

when

I

die

I

go

from

this

place

to

that

one

and

why

because

Jesus

paid

my

debt

and

satisfied

my

sin

he

paid

the

price

I'm

reminded

also

of the

fact

that

at

his

salvation

he

took

me

who

was

once

the

beloved

do

you

know

what

that's

saying

it's

saying

that

when

Jesus

looks

at

you

he

looks

at

you

with

favor

he

loves

you

and

you

are

accepted

unconditionally

every

now and

then we

probably

look at

ourselves

in the

mirror

and

think

what

did

you

do

making

me

oh

I

would

like

to

be

like

do

you

follow

what

I'm

saying

we

always

wish

we

were

somebody

else

there's

only

one

of

you

we're

joined

to

his

body

we're

connected

together

inseparably

connected

and we

could add

to that

list

one

thing

after

another

well

let me

come

back

and

pick

up

on

one

thing

in

particular

that

Paul

emphasizes

in

Romans

Romans 4 · chapter mention

chapter

4

it

says

justification

and

when

Paul

uses

that

word

justification

he

says

Christ

Jesus

was

raised

for

our

justification

it

it's

fair to

stop

and think

a little

bit

about

what

is

involved

in

this

issue

of

justification

what's

being

spoken

of

well

justification

refers

to a

person's

legal

standing

before

God

the

idea

behind

the

word

is

this

is

that

the

question

behind

the

word

is

this

is

how

can

a

man

stand

in

the

presence

of

the

justice

of

a

holy

God

and

be

accepted

and

when

you

stop

and

really

think

about

that

there

are

only

two

ways

that

are

proposed

in

the

world

how

can

a

man

be

righteous

before

a

holy

God

there

are

only

two

proposed

ideas

in

the

world

one

is

that

man

may

earn

his

righteousness

because

a

he's

lived

a

completely

sinless

life

and

in

the

judgment

God

looks

at

his

completely

sinless

life

and

says

attaboy

good

job

come

on

down

right

it's

okay

Jesus

was

the only

man

who

lived

an

absolutely

sinless

life

isn't

that

correct

he's

the only

one

now

because

of that

because

of

Christ's

righteousness

the other

option is

available to

those who

believe on

Jesus

and that

is this

is that

his

righteousness

may be

imputed

or put

over on

my account

so that

when

God

looks

at the

record

of Tim

Knoyer's

life

I wonder

how Tim

Knoyer

did

it's

kind

of

interesting

to have

a woman

in our

church

who

knew

of me

and my

family

when I

grew up

in India

hi

Kimmy

how are

you doing

Kimmy and

Ron

and their

two boys

are here

entertaining

my mother

Kimmy you're

not allowed

to tell

any of the

stories about

when I

was growing

up

will you

if I

see anybody

standing near

her I'm

concerned

but here's

the truth

when God

turns the

pages on

Tim

Knoyer's

book

I wonder

how he

did

he sees

the finished

work of

Christ

he sees

his blood

and he

sees the

righteousness

of Christ

imputed

that means

transferred over

and put on

my account

I want you

to turn

just for a

moment

over to

Romans

Romans 3:23

chapter 3

verse 23

and 24

Romans

Romans 3:23

chapter 3

verse 23

and 24

for all

have sinned

and fall

short of

the glory

of God

you know

one of the

things that

comes at

Easter

and I am

very thankful

for this

is that

because of

family relations

and because of

family being

what it is

a lot of

times

an Easter

service is

where people

will come

in respect

for family

and for

relationships

that they

don't come

to church

normally

other than

that

do you

follow that

and if

there is

anything

that gives

me pleasure

on Easter

it is the

opportunity

of making

the gospel

undeniably

clear

plain

simple

so that when

you walk

out of here

one of the

things that I

trust

is just

absolutely

crystal clear

is I

know

number one

that all

men are

sinners

and stand

justly condemned

before a

holy God

and that

includes me

it's very

interesting

that the

idea of

coming to

grips with

the reality

of your

own sin

is a

fairly

complicated

and unhappy

process

do you

follow what

I'm saying

I mean

most of us

would like to

think that if

we put on a

smile and

makeup it's

good enough

the truth of

the matter is

is that that

doesn't do

anything to

touch the

heart

and what the

scriptures tell

us is the

heart is

deceitful above

all things and

desperately wicked

how many of

you have been

stunned on

occasion to

recognize just

how black and

dark the

thoughts of

your mind

and heart

are

the Bible

says there

is none

righteous

no not one

there's not a

single person

that by

virtue of

his own

standing

and his

own behavior

will be able

to stand in

the presence

of a holy

God and

say hey

I got a

right to

come in

because I

am free

of sin

no thing

like that

but what we

find there

in verse

24

yes all

have sinned

23

but

the one

who is

trusted in

Christ

is justified

by his

grace

as a

gift

through the

redemption

that is in

Christ Jesus

and we see

then in verse

25 whom

God put

forward as

a propitiation

by his

blood

to receive

to be

received by

faith

you know

what the

Bible is

telling us

is this

is that

the fact

of the

matter

is is

that

God

sent his

son the

Lord

Jesus

to die

in our

place

to satisfy

the judgment

of God

to take

our penalty

and to

satisfy

that debt

that we

had created

by our

sin

it's fairly

easy

to kind

of cook

on through

life

not thinking

very much

about just

what the

eternal

consequences

are of

your sin

in the

moment

but the

truth of

the matter

is

is at

night

in those

lonely

moments

when you're

quiet

by yourself

you recognize

there are

issues

and burdens

and darkness

that you can't

take care of

yourself

what do

you do

about

those

things

you can't

solve

the

problem

you can't

solve

the

problem

and the

fact of

the matter

is is

Jesus

came into

the world

and he

died

in our

place

and he

paid

our

penalty

and as

a result

of that

those who

trust in

Christ

have

their

sins

forgiven

and Christ's

righteousness

put over

top of

their

account

and as

a result

of that

the

legal

record

of our

life

and I

want you

to think

with me

of this

the legal

record

of our

life

is

stamped

justified

how many of you

remember

some of you

here have had

that happen

actually when you

finally get your car

paid off

and what comes

from the title

company

how many

like that

there it is

title free

and clear

or you

got the

last

of the

series of

payments

that you

decided

and it

said paid

in full

stamped right

there

and here's

the truth

because of

what Jesus

Christ has

done for

me

across the

record of

Tim

Knoyer's

life

it says

paid in

full

paid in

full

his

righteousness

imputed

or transferred

over and

put on

my

life

so let me

ask you a

question

this

Easter

this

Easter

are you

sitting here

this morning

with thankfulness

at the reality

of the

resurrection

and as you

got up this

morning

I trust

one of the

things you

did is

man

this is

the day

where we

remind

ourselves

that Jesus

rose from

the dead

and as a

result of

that

this is

a high

and holy

day

in which

I just

incredibly

rejoice

in what

Christ has

done in

saving me

I

thank him

for being

my savior

and I

thank him

for forgiving

me of all

my sins

and I

thank him

for the

certainty

I have

in heaven

as my

home

is that

something

that

happened

or is it

something

well

I know

my mom

wants me

to go

to church

today

I'll go

I hope

that's not

the case

I hope

that this

morning

is a day

when you

rejoice

in the

certainty

of Christ

as your

savior

and your

heart

reflects that

with the

joy

that

comes

from

him

if

you're

here

today

and the